tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post1460230769159473039..comments2024-03-05T14:07:28.062-08:00Comments on Ask Sister Mary Martha: Excedrin Headache #4Sister Mary Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00580244097177195453noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-84633719834839026072009-05-26T12:53:44.181-07:002009-05-26T12:53:44.181-07:00I've got the "tortured by my imperfections" part d...I've got the "tortured by my imperfections" part down pretty good. <br /><br />It's the "life of heroic virtue" part that gives me trouble. Between sheer cowardice (go look for trouble? me?), a tendency toward bone-idleness (can I do that tomorrow), and frankly not facing many challenges in daily life, I feel totally inadequate to the challenge most of the time. I have a small ikon of St. Maximilian Kolbe above my desk, and feel intimidated every time I look at him. Even St. Therese had chronic illness to contend with. I have a mortgage, a wife who loves me but who stopped going to church/confession/anything sacramental years ago, and two lapsed daughters. Most of my troubles in the life area are of my own making. Tiny, tiny, tiny little crosses, really. And an easy-to-manage problem with diabetes. I worry that having led "a life of somewhat mediocre virtue" isn't going to cut it. <br /><br />I'm no slacker in my Catholicism, really, but I'm wondering what I've missed, and what I can do about it. All ideas not involving physical self-flagellation welcome.bill7txhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06583247635887386447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-59350967451952274232009-05-26T08:51:13.462-07:002009-05-26T08:51:13.462-07:00there is no st. christopher?!there is no st. christopher?!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-43784749290126044972009-05-24T05:48:51.852-07:002009-05-24T05:48:51.852-07:00@Tracy,
we believers are all part of the Body of C...@Tracy,<br />we believers are all part of the Body of Christ, neh? The veneration of saints makes it clear to me that we in the Body here on Earth (aka the Church Militant, which is to say the Church Struggling) are aware of those in the Body who are in Heaven (aka the Church Triumphant). Why should we conclude that the Body in Heaven is <B>not</B> aware of the Body on Earth?<br /><br />The idea that believers in Heaven wouldn't <I>care</I> about us on Earth is even sillier. As dre said, that's really quite selfish. People in Heaven should have so much more of God's love (call it charity, like in the KJV, or <I>agape</I> or <I>caritas</I>) that they should care for us lots, lots more than we are even able to care for them.<br /><br />@NC Sue,<br />The technical Catholic nomenclature for the "St. Anthony Fan Club" is (hold your breath, this may frighten you) "The Cult of St. Anthony."<br /><br />Unfortunately, I have to leave it to dear Sister Mary Martha to explain why this is nothing like drinking Kool-Aid for Jim Jones.Arkanabar T'verrick Ilarsadinhttp://arkanabar.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-55699634196956865002009-05-23T19:51:47.351-07:002009-05-23T19:51:47.351-07:00If St. Philomena never existed, than whose interce...If St. Philomena never existed, than whose intercession were St. Jean-Marie Vianney and Ven. Pauline-Marie Jaricot praying for?Annanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-11433130083889471912009-05-23T10:42:53.891-07:002009-05-23T10:42:53.891-07:00As C.S. Lewis said somewhere, if you were applying...As C.S. Lewis said somewhere, if you were applying for a job you would certainly apply to the boss -- but if you knew someone in the office, wouldn't you ask him or her to throw in a good word?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-19486682397475450852009-05-23T10:10:41.743-07:002009-05-23T10:10:41.743-07:00A Church Scholar once told me that the word "pray"...A Church Scholar once told me that the word "pray" originally meant "to ask" (I think in a formal sense) so to pray to a saint simply meant to ask something from them. Some time after the reformation, the protestants decided that the word "pray" should only be reserved for He who is worthy of our worship (God). Which was very convenient because they could then turn and say that Catholics worship the saints and Mary because we "pray" to them. The definition of the word changed, just like the definition of many words have changed over the years.Camillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17731843741521434042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-64375568650610212062009-05-23T05:29:38.124-07:002009-05-23T05:29:38.124-07:00I'm a convert and one of those bone-headed people ...I'm a convert and one of those bone-headed people who used to say, "But I only pray to Jesus". Boy howdy, was I ever a snooty ignoramus...<br /><br />I still don't necessarily think right off of asking the saints to pray on my behalf. But just a short while ago, I had an experience which I wrote about at http://acts17verse28.blogspot.com/2009/05/thank-you-st-anthony.html. I went from somewhat skeptical to becoming a charted member of the St. Anthony fan club. <br /><br />God bless you, and keep on blogging - it's always a pick-me-up to read what you have to say!<br /><br />In His love,<br /><br />NC Sue<br />http://acts17verse28.blogspot.com/NCSuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17617227847364562989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-67626916062573838162009-05-23T03:15:56.701-07:002009-05-23T03:15:56.701-07:00Dear Sister MM,
I really enjoy your blog. To tak...Dear Sister MM,<br /><br />I really enjoy your blog. To take on controversial questions with such wit and good humor...it is refreshing.<br /><br />So...let me jump in on separated brethren side. As my Catholic friends sometimes forget the _ask for intercession_ phrase, we Protestants, I think, forget to explain that we think that it is best to spend our (limited, usually) prayer time talking to Jesus, rather than being distracted into talking to someone else. Also, we are not at all sure they can hear us anyway, though God can hear anything, anywhere. And should we distract them from the kind of worship described in Revelations to hear us? Not sure that we should. But this is too much to explain off the cuff, so we just repeat, "But I only pray to Jesus." <br /><br />In any case, none of this detracts from the respect that I have for some good Catholic friends. As the old song says, "We'll understand it better bye and bye."Tracyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17638799349745874062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-31607035978279329242009-05-23T02:58:45.122-07:002009-05-23T02:58:45.122-07:00My experience when talking with evangelical types ...My experience when talking with evangelical types about saints is that they don't believe the saints can hear our prayers when they are in heaven, or that they would be interested if they could hear. A typical comment is, "If I were in heaven, I'd be so caught up in the glory of it that I would never care about all the sadness and sickness and sin on earth. I'd just want to praise God forever."<br /><br />Hmmmmmm......so getting to heaven suddenly makes us selfish????drenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-17729463251145467372009-05-22T22:06:05.042-07:002009-05-22T22:06:05.042-07:00I do enjoy reading your blog.I do enjoy reading your blog.Jody Bluehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02822023313529125586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30512717.post-40616306930054639632009-05-22T14:28:41.421-07:002009-05-22T14:28:41.421-07:00My thoughts exactly when explaining why we ask Sai...My thoughts exactly when explaining why we ask Saints to pray for us to my charismatic/evangelical/pentecostal friends. We ask people to pray for us all the time; how much more do we need the intercession of those already in heaven. Plus I could do with the prayers of St Stephen as I get migraines.joannaB73https://www.blogger.com/profile/06375449214052411277noreply@blogger.com